Fire-control apparatus for naval guns



W. AKEMANN.

FIRE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR NAVAL GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-3.1920.

1,373,793. Patented Apr. 5, 1921..

WALTHER AKEMANN, 0F ESSEN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 FRIED. KRUPP AKTIEN- GESELLSCHAFT, OF ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, GE RMANY.

FIRE-CONTROL APPARATUS FOR NAVAL GUNS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed September 3, 1920. Serial No. 408,073.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VVALTHER AKEMANN, residing at Essen, Germany, a citizen of the German Republic, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fire-Control Apparatus for Naval Guns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that type of fire controlling apparatus particularly intended for naval guns in which a gyroscopic apparatus is provided at the transmitting station for the purpose of taking into account the angle of advanced ignition which corresponds to the firing delay when the ship is making rolling movements. The object of the invention is to provide a fire controlling apparatus of the kind above referred to which is of a very simple construction, is correspondingly simple to manipulate, and which enables the guns to be accurately adjusted when the ship is rolling account the angle of advanced ignition corresponding to the firing delay, has two adjustable marks corresponding to the angle of rolling and two marks which enable a firing circuit to be closed, of which one pair of marks are rigidly connected to a sighting telescope stabilizable by the gyroscope and the other pair of marks are connected to a common driving member so that as the said driving member rotates, the two marks which enable the firing circuit to be closed are adjusted to that angle of advanced ignition which corresponds to .the angle of rolling previously adjusted on the other two marks. a

In order that the invention may be clearly -understood reference is made to the accompanying drawing which shows diagrammatically a construction illustrating the subject matter of the invention.

The fire control apparatus consists of two separate arrangements which are connected by electrical conductors, of which one is situated at the controlling station and the other at the gun station. The arrangement situated at the controlling station consists of a casing A rotating about a vertical axis, from which is suspended bya Cardan suspension an electrically driven gyroscope B. The outermost of the two Cardan rings of the gyroscope has two Cardan pins which pass through the casing, one of said pins carries a pointer rigidly connected to it and extending downward and a horizontal telescope B The gyroscope is provided for the purpose of maintaining the direction imparted to the telescope B when the ship rolls or pitches. The magnitude of the angle of rolling is read off on a scale a graduated to indicate the rolling angle, mounted on the casing A and extending to both sides thereof and an indicator, thread 6 stretched across a rectangular slot b in the pointer B The pointer B has also an indicator mark b and a firing tongue I) mounted on its free end and the points of the indicator mark I) and the firing tongue I) are in line with the indicator thread 6 The firing tongue 6 is provided for cooperating with a second firing tongue 0 mounted on a sector piece C curved to the arc of a circle and pivotally guided about the axis of the Cardan pins above mentioned. The sector pieceC is reciprocated by means of a lever D which is connected thereto by a connecting rod The said sector piece G is formed on its underside with teeth 0 with which the teeth ,of a

toothed wheel a rotatably mounted on the casing A engage. .The toothed wheel a gears through the medium of toothed wheels a cf, 0?, a with the teeth 9 of a sector E which is pivotally mounted on the casing A to turn about the axis of the above mentioned Cardan pin. The toothed sector E has an indicator mark 6 and an angle graduation which extends on both sides of this mark. The' toothed sector E, positively connected to the lever D, by the mechanism (5 C, 0 a a, a a a, 0 may. be employed to follow the mark 6 with the mark 6 during the rolling of the ship and also the relative movements of the pointer B with respect to the casing A which occur at the same time until the pointer B and mark 6 have reached their greatest outward swing, the lever D being then secured. The ratio of transmission between the lever D and the toothed sector E is such that the firing tongue 0 mounted on the toothed sector C assumes, when the lever D is secured as described at the instant of the greatest swing of the mark if, an angular position with respect to the firing tongue I) on the pointer B which retains its position corresponding to the firing delay, and corresponding to the At the,controlling station is placed transmitter H forming part of an electrical long distance controll ng apparatus, having an indicating app-aratus It? .to enable range of thegtarget to be. adjusted,,constructed, on the coarse ,andfine; a system. i ,Th s transnser to adj s am iy rql i a constructed on ,the a coarse and-fine .system mounted....,on the,gun,. ito the range of the target, determined at the controlling station. eansm t H ha i l o an immune apparatus. H which enables any angle .of pitching of the sl imthere may be and which is determine byflhe aid oi the indicator apparatus 5*, 0;? to. be taken into account when adjusting the receiver to the range of the target. Finally the. elevating gear, by means of .Whiclnthe gunbarrel G isadjustedi .to the elevation indicated by. the receiver 171 is. positively .connectedto, a repeating transmitter, J also constructed on the coarse. and .fine. system. andthe similarly constructed ,receiver- J1 situatedat the controlling station. and indicates, to the man who, operates the .firing switch whether the gun barrel G .hasreceived, the elevation corresponding tothe range;of;the target.

For-the, consideration of-the" working of the above described fire controlling apparatus letitbe assumedthat. thegun barrel G and the casingA have been. laterally ad-, ju'sted to the, target and the ship is. executing' rolling movements aboutlits horizontal iioating position while the. firing switch F 15 open. i

If the gun barrel Gis to be adjusted by the aid of; the above described fire {coni trolling apparatus ,to the range of the target and fired, at aninstant which is in advance,

byv the magnitude of th firing delay corresponding tothe size of .the. angle of. rolling, of .the instant when the ship passes through the horizontal, floating position,..the transmitter 11 ,situatednt; the controlling station .is first adjusted to the range o f the target ,bythe aid of -the-.,.indicating apparatus, 11 ,lThev ;adj ustmnt, of .the trans mitter H results in a, corresponding adjustment of the. receiver..= situated at the, gun

stationand on theindicating apparatus by which the range of ,theitarget. is,.,co'n sequently ascerta nable. ..The.. i1n barrelQG isthen adjustedtc the elevation correspondng to range .ofrthe targetby. the elevatlngg gear." The. adjustment of the ,gun. barrel is,.alsoytaken;partin by the repeating dicator. apparatus for the, rollin transmitter J situated at the gun station which transmits its adjustment to the receiver J situated at the controlling station. Bythe agreement of the indications of the receiverJ and the indicating apparatus ]L3 of the transmitter H, it can then. be readily ascertainedthat the gun barrel G has the elevation imparted to. it corresponding to the range of the target. As soon as this is found to be the case the lever D is rocked by hand in order that the toothed sector E positively connected to it by the mechanismak, C, 0 m a a 0. a, 6 and the mark 6 fixed thereon is kept in coincidence with the ,mark .6 of'the pointer B until it has attained its greatest outward swing in respectbfthe scale a indicating the rolling angle, mounted on thecasing A,.the lever D.being.then secured. The above d scribed movement of thelever D is taken part in by the toothed sector C with its firing tongue 0 audit moves, when the ratiosjof transmission. forthe toothed sector C. and. the toothed sector E are. those given,..through an angle which just corresponds to the firing delay belongin tothe position of the mark e}. Ifthe fir ng switch be now closed the projectile, as. both firing tongues I2 0 are adjusted to theangle of advanced ignition. which corresponds to, the angle of rolling, ,will leave the. gun barrel atan inpitching will be indicated, when the telescope B is directed horizontally, on the inangle and adjustedboth on the ap aratus' for taking. into accountthein uence of the angle of pitching to the necessary. elevation of the gun barrel G. and also on the lever D. for the purpose of correspondingly moving the firingtongue c an d the mark a positively connected. thereto. i In other respects the manipulation; 'of sthet-fire controlling apparatus does not" fdifier, from i that h i before described.

... The arrangement describeddifiers from known fire control apparatus :fitted with gyrOScopic apparatus for adjusting the angle curacy in the adjustmentand answers all the of preliminary ignitiomflby its simple conlized mark 6'' can be determined when the rolling movements are severe with great accuracy by means of the hand operated marke as the relative speed of the stabilized.

mark with respect to the casing A at themstant of reversal isequal to zero in all cases.

\Vithout'making any change in the essential features of the invention, the transmitter H might be so arranged that the adjustment of its movable part to the range of the target results directly in an elevation of the gun barrel G corresponding to this range of the target.

Claims.

1. Fire control apparatus of the class described which comprises a sighting device, a stabilizing device for said sighting means, a pair of marks adjustable to correspond to the angle of rolling of a ship, a pair of contact devices for closing a firing circuit, one of said marks and one of said contact devices being rigidly connected to the sighting means and the other mark and contact device being operatively connected together and means for adjusting said mark and contact device.

2. An apparatus of the class described which comprises a sighting telescope, a gyroscopic apparatus for stabilizing said telescope, an arm rigidly secured to said sighting device, a mark fixed upon said arm, a

contact fixed upon said arm, a second mark cooperating with said first mentioned mark, 'a second contact device cooperating with said first mentioned contact device, means operatively connecting said second mark and second contact and means whereby they may be adjusted simultaneously and at a different ratio of movement.

3. A fire control apparatus of the class described which comprises a stabilizable shaft, a gyroscopic apparatus for stabilizing said shaft,-a sighting telescope carried by said shaft, a pointer rigidly secured to said stabilizable shaft, a mark and a contact device rigidly attached to said pointer, a second mark cooperating With said first mentioned mark, a second contact device cooperating with said first mentioned contact device, a pair of sectors arranged concentrically with the stabilizableshaft, said second mark andv second contact being carried by said sectors and means whereby said sectors maybe adjusted simultaneously with a variable degree of movement. j

4. A fire control apparatus of the class described which comprises a stabilizable shaft,- means for stabilizing said shaft, a sighting telescope carried by said shaft, a. pointer rigidly secured to said stabilizable shaft, a

pa r-of cooperating marks for indicating the angle of rolling of a ship, a pair of contact devices for closing a firing circuit, one of said marks and contact devices being rigidly mounted on said pointer, an indicating device mounted adjacent said mark for cooperation therewith, the other of said pair of marks and contact devices being carried by sectors arranged concentrically with a stabilizable shaft, the sector carrying said mark having arranged thereon an indicating apparatus cooperating with the mark and means operatively connecting said sectors for simultaneously adjusting them. The foregoing specification signed at Essen, Germany, this 16th day of J une, 1920. DR. 'WALTHER AKEMANN. In presence of- HANS Go'rrIMANN, JoHANN DEoKERs. 

